(Sept. 27, 2026 / JNS)

The weapon transforming modern warfare can cost just a few hundred dollars and even the world’s most advanced militaries are struggling to stop it.

Meira K reveals how cheap drones are rewriting the rules of war, allowing armies and terror groups to threaten soldiers, cities and billion-dollar military systems at a fraction of the cost. From Hamas’s use of drones on October 7 and Hezbollah’s deadly fiber-optic weapons to Ukraine’s devastating attacks deep inside Russia, the battlefield is changing at breathtaking speed. But Israel is racing to build the answer, including combat lasers that can reportedly destroy drones for just dollars per shot. The question is whether those defenses can evolve fast enough to defeat a threat that is becoming cheaper, deadlier and almost impossible to track.